Someday
by Dispatch22705
Summary: Booth and Brennan complete a case that hits close to home for Booth; and Brennan unintentionally reveals the information Pops confided to her. But while she feels it was the wrong time, it's now up to her to make sure Booth believes the truth.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I loved when Pops confided in Brennan, and I particularly liked that she agreed to retain the information until the right time. Either she was lying, or she believes she will be in Booth's life whenever that time is right, which I found encouraging. (since I assumed she wasn't lying to appease Pops! haha, that's not really her style, though, is it?)**

**Set right after The Foot in the Foreclosure.**

"Hey, thanks for coming with me, Bones" Booth spared her a glance as he started up the SUV.

She met his eyes in slight surprise. "Of course, Booth. Why wouldn't I have come?"

When she turned back to look out the window as he began driving through the city, Booth contemplated her words. Huh, _why wouldn't she_?

Why wouldn't she?

He would have done the same for her, that much was true. He'd done a lot more for her in the past. But it was more than that, he suspected. This wasn't a _partner_ thing. This was a _family_ thing.

But when he thought back to the entire week, he realized she'd infiltrated into just about every part of his time with Pops. A smile crossed his lips as he spared another glance at her, remembering the way she'd enthusiastically agreed to grilled cheese and dominoes, and just…everything. His smile faded quickly as it came when he saw her discretely wipe a single tear from her cheek. Booth felt his chest tighten, and his mind whirled as he tried to figure out what was wrong. Knowing with her it was best to just ask, he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "What's wrong, Bones?"

**--b&b--**

Brennan's throat tightened for a moment, and she blinked, looking over to Booth quickly, shaking her head. "Oh, no…it's nothing."

She forced a smile and met his eyes, just long enough to prove to him that she was telling the truth. Even though she was lying. But he didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know that she had been caught off guard by the rush of tears for a couple of days. Ever since her lunch with Hank, she'd fought off images of Booth as a young child, of Hank intervening on his behalf, of her partner then living the rest of his childhood and who knew how much longer without his father. Tears of sadness for him, and thankfulness that his Pops had gotten him out of the situation. And, if she was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she felt a few tears for Hank too, for his guilt over it all. The Booth men carried guilt, she'd learned.

But Booth was still looking at her, even as he pulled up to a red light. He smiled slightly and nudged her arm with his fist, "Hey, Bones…what's up? You can tell me anything; you know that, right?"

Brennan felt her stomach clench, even as she forced back a humorless laugh. It was so like Booth as well to assume she'd be upset about something personal, but not anything on his behalf. Then again, he didn't know about her private conversation…

Feeling confused, but anxious to change the subject, she just smiled and looked out the window again, hoping to ease his concern. "It's nothing, Booth. Have you finished the paperwork from the case?"

"Almost" Booth nodded and jerked his thumb toward the backseat. "Got the files back there. Was going to finish it this afternoon. Do you want to help?"

Brennan chuckled at his cheeky grin and shook her head. "Sure. Why not?"

Booth clicked his tongue against his teeth and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'll even go easy on you at dominoes after."

"I don't think so" Brennan challenged, her chin lifting a bit. "I believe I have been well trained to kick your ass."

Booth laughed, and pulled out his phone, ordering some Thai takeout, since his oven was currently out of commission. "You'd like to think that, Bones," he grinned when he closed his phone and lifted up in his seat for a moment to slide his phone into his back pocket.

"I don't have to think it, Booth. I know it. Or should I say…_Shrimp_."

"Oh…" Booth scoffed and turned to her with a disbelieving smile. "It is so on, Bones."

She smiled, and didn't comment, but just looked out the window again.

Booth kept his gaze on her for a moment longer, and then smiled to himself as he drove through the city.

**--b&b—**

Once they reached his apartment, Booth led the way up, noticing that his partner paused in the doorway to his kitchen. Her fingertips caressed the charred wall, a contemplative look on her face.

"Hungry, Bones?" he changed the subject and held up the white cartons, giving them each a little jiggle. She smiled and nodded, walking over to his couch and sitting down, reaching for the rice and the paperwork.

They settled into a normal routine with a little less bickering than normal, and once the paperwork was completed, Brennan smoothed her hands down her sides and stood. "I guess I should be going."

Booth tilted his head to the side and leaned back against his couch. "No dominoes, hmmm?"

"Oh, I forgot" Brennan admitted, "But now that I think about it…" Her voice trailed off, and Booth saw the same look on her face as before. "I really should go, Booth."

He shrugged a shoulder and stood, walking with her to the front door. He opened it and then rested his palm against the doorjamb as she walked under his arm through the door. Just as she was almost of the threshold, she turned, her face very close to his.

Her eyes searched his for a moment, and Booth realized that whatever was upsetting her, _whatever_ had caused that single tear to streak down her cheek was about _him_. For him, in some way.

His breath caught in his throat as her hand reached out and touched the side of his face. What was happening? In slow motion, he felt the pads of her fingertips in angel light movements against the top layers of his skin. In her eyes he could see that she was upset about something, and all of a sudden he knew. Pops.

Well, he didn't know for sure, but he'd bet his gun, holster and badge that it was something. Something that was causing her to feel…to feel what?

Because in the next instant, she was turning away from him, and he couldn't see her face again.

Immediately, he grabbed her hand again, turning her back to face him. He didn't know what to say, all he knew was that he wasn't quite ready for this new connection to be over. He knew it in his mind…and in his heart.

Brain. Heart.

Lifting her hand, he pressed it against his chest, hoping she could feel his heartbeat. He took his own hand and pressed it just under her left shoulder, feeling the steady beat of her heart against his fingertips. Their eyes met and held as a new connection arced between them, one of friendship and understanding and partnership and…and _family_.

He released her hand and pulled his back at the same time. She smiled softly and turned to walk away. Booth watched her go and then closed his door, leaning against it for a moment. He walked over toward his stove and ran his own hand against the burned wall there.

Ever since he'd awoken from his coma, he'd been told he was in love with his partner. In love with her. Based on his brain.

But it was time to stop leading with his brain. Time to put the heart in overdrive.

**--b&b--**

**Present day…**

"Hey, alright, another case solved" Sweets smiled encouragingly from across the table in his office. "That's gotta feel good, right?"

Brennan spared a glance toward her partner and could see the way his knuckles were almost white from gripping the stress ball from the coffee table. Before Booth could open his mouth, she cleared her throat.

"Feeling good is subjective, Dr. Sweets, but…" Brennan trailed off for a moment when Booth looked at her, but she just kept her gaze focused ahead of her. "But, I can honestly say that it does not feel good, what we had to just do. It's satisfying to see a case through to completion, but…it does not feel good to tell someone that her own son murdered her alcoholic husband."

Sweets swallowed and then leaned forward so his elbows rested against his knees. "I see. And…Agent Booth, do you have anything to add?'

Booth pressed his tongue to the inside of his mouth and then gave a humorless chuckle. "Nah, nope, I'm good with what Bones here said."

"Right." Sweets nodded. "Yes, I see…" He leaned back in his chair and nodded again, pressing his fingertips together beneath his chin. "If I may…" When he didn't receive an answer either way, Sweets took it as a sign to continue, "If I may, I feel that the two of you are separating yourselves from this case on a personal level because of the intricately woven element of family involved."

Brennan could almost feel Booth's temperature rising, and she placed a quick hand on his arm. "That's not true, Sweets. You're projecting what you want to believe onto us." Again, she felt Booth's quick glance in her direction, but she didn't look his way. The truth was that she thought Sweets might just be right, but she hadn't wanted to upset Booth, and so she'd just kept her mouth shut.

If Sweets was disappointed in her answer, he didn't show it. In fact, a tiny smile curved up one side of his mouth, and he glanced back and forth between the two partners. "And, Agent Booth, you agree with that assessment?"

For a moment, it seemed as if Booth might actually answer him, but instead, he just patted the arm of the couch once and then stood. "I'd say it's about time to leave, wouldn't you, Bones?"

Brennan looked from him to Sweets, and then back to Booth. "Um…yes." She stood up and schooled her features as much as possible. "I would agree with that statement."

Booth forced a smile and held a hand out between Brennan and the doorway. She nodded slightly and led the way, not speaking a word until they were out of Sweets' office and in the FBI elevator.

When she looked at Booth from the corner of her eye, she could see that his jaw was still set, so stiffly that the muscle there was working frantically. Her chest constricted in the way it did when she was always unsure on how to proceed with him. Feeling as if the truth were best, she stepped a fraction closer to him, thankful for their solitude in the elevator. "Don't put any credence into what Sweets says, Booth" she tried to encourage. "He's just…showing off. In my opinion."

Booth didn't so much as spare her a glance, but instead, just reached around her to tap once more on the button for the ground floor level, as if doing so would make the elevator move faster. "Yep" was all he said.

Brennan took the hint and pulled in a deep breath, settling her hands in front of her and staring at their silent reflections for the rest of the elevator ride.

**--b&b—**

If the elevator ride was tense, it was nothing compared to the mood in the SUV as Booth drove through the dark city streets. Every once in awhile, a streetlight would bathe its light into the windshield, and Brennan would get a glimpse of Booth's face. The skin near his eyes was pulled tight with tension, and there were deep frown lines around his mouth. Brennan licked her lips as she felt words rising up her throat. Even if Booth grew angry with her, it was better than him being so silent, right?

"Booth…"

"Not now, Bones." He grounded out, cutting her off before she could even start.

"But…"

"_Not. Now_."

His tone recommended no argument, and the way he shifted in his seat, clenching the steering wheel with tight reins was witness enough to the fact that Brennan had miscalculated.

So she sat back in her seat, pressing her fingers to the window, noticing for the first time that it had started raining. She thought she heard Booth sigh, but when she looked over at him, nothing about him had changed. Figuring she had just imagined it, she turned back to look out the window, enjoying the way the store windows displayed sales or new merchandise.

They stopped at a red light, the silence in the SUV energetic and uncomfortable. As the light turned green, Booth stepped gently on the gas, and then… "You know, I thought about it."

Brennan blinked, and pressed her hand to the window for just a moment more, trying to appear casual. "Thought about what?" she asked without looking his way.

She could just make out his reflection in the window, and she could see him swallow first before shifting in his seat once more. "It, you know, my dad, and…"

Killing him.

Brennan knew what he meant, knew exactly what he meant. She felt a small shiver of pleasure that she'd figured it out before, and an equally small measure of pride that she'd managed to keep quiet about it until Booth had been ready to talk. "Oh?"

**--b&b—**

Booth heard the practiced hesitation in her voice, and it almost made him smile. She thought she was fooling him? Well, not likely. He knew her. He damn well knew her well enough to know what she was thinking, and he was damn proud of her for keeping her mouth shut about it. If he hadn't been barely hanging on, he might have even smiled at her defense and well…lying in Sweets' office. But she wasn't fooling him. He'd seen the way her eyes lingered on him throughout the entire case, monitoring, watching to make sure he didn't take things too personally. But what she didn't know was that he'd stopped making things personal himself a long time ago. It was a lot easier that way.

But what he also knew was that if anyone could make him talk, it was her. And maybe it was her silence, her quiet acceptance, that finally pushed him over the edge. And he was so thankful that he didn't actually have to say anything for her to know exactly what he was talking about.

"Myself, I could get over that. I _did_ get over that. And Jared…well…" Booth pulled in a shuddered breath. "But mom? That was always the hardest, and…"

He managed to spare a glance toward his partner and then for a moment, was entranced by her face. Her pale skin and wide eyes seemed more luminous than ever, and she was so breathtakingly beautiful that once again, he felt the contrast in his sinful heart.

"I'm not proud of it, Bones, and I never really thought about it, like…really, really made a plan or anything, but…"

Her lips parted, and she nodded. "I understand."

Booth blinked twice, but didn't look away, wondering if she really did understand. As well as he knew her, there was so much about her that he didn't know.

"But…" he shook his head and looked back toward the road. "You know the worst thing of it all, Bones?"

When she didn't answer, he spared her a glance and noticed that she was studying him. A self deprecating smile crossed his lips, and he pounded the steering wheel with the flat of one palm. "You know what really pisses me off? It's the fact that Pops had to give up his life to help me and Jared. It's just so unfair. I mean, Dad, he worked us up good, and then what, he just leaves. It's not fair, Bones. It's not fair to anyone, but it's really not fair to Pops. I mean, he had a good life. No way did he want us around like that, you know? But he did. I'm grateful, but…I know deep down, Pops regrets it."

"That's not true, Booth." Brennan whispered harshly.

Booth's eyebrow lifted as he looked at her for a moment. "Listen, Bones, I appreciate your interest in helping me with this, and all of that, but there's no reason for you to butt in about 'the truth', because frankly, you don't know what you're talking about. I don't mean to be rude, but…I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about so…no offense, but just butt out."

He loosened his tie from around his neck and tossed it into the backseat of the SUV. "Just…Pops never wanted to talk about it, and that can only mean one thing. He…regrets taking me in."

Booth pulled into Brennan's driveway and sat quietly for a moment. When she made no move to leave the SUV, he turned toward her. In her eyes, he could see some sort of war going on, and his curiosity rose. Her eyes were almost frantic as she looked at him, and he wondered what she could possibly be thinking. Feeling bad that he'd even brought it up in the first place, he cupped the back of his neck and sighed, "Look, Bones…"

"That's not true." She whispered it again, this time with even more conviction, and her tone gave Booth pause. Very slowly, he brought his hand down from the back of his neck and let his wrist rest against the steering wheel.

"What are you talking about, Bones?"

**--b&b—**

His tone was low, but his words were serious, and Brennan felt as if she'd made a huge mistake. She blinked rapidly, and tried to reach for the door handle. But she couldn't look away from Booth's gaze, and she feared her own eyes were declaring everything she was trying to hide, everything she should have kept quiet about. This wasn't 'some day, when the time is right'; this was the wrong night, the wrong time, and…she'd done it all wrong.

"Bones…" his eyes were dark, and his tone a little more intense. "What are you…what do you know?"

She inhaled such a sharp breath that he knew she did know something. Brennan closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them, reaching and opening the door to the SUV without saying another word. She already said too much.

Booth's hands clenched into fists, and he wanted to insist that she stay the hell where she was and fucking tell him. Now.

But he just watched as she got out of the SUV. She didn't wait for him to follow her, but instead merely walked inside. It was a few minutes before Booth unbuckled his seatbelt and followed her inside, even then still unsure that he wanted to hear what she had to say.

**--b&b—**

Brennan heard her front door close, and the click was so deliberate that she knew Booth was still feeling tense. Trying to stay as calm as possible, she opened her fridge door, leaned in to grab two beers and stood back up. As soon as she was straight, a hand reached around her and slammed the fridge door closed. Brennan turned around and held up the two beers in her hand. Booth's eyes were fierce with a dark glimmer of danger, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he took a beer from her hand and took a step back, placing his hand against the counter. "Don't play games with me, Bones. Just spill it."

Brennan's brow furrowed. "The beer? Booth, I…"

"Damn it, _Bones_!" He hissed and cupped a hand to the back of his neck. He sought out her gaze, his own practically begging her to just understand. To know what he needed without having to say it.

Brennan's chest constricted again, and she felt as if she'd failed him. Failed him and failed Hank. But it was too late now, and all she could do was come clean about all of it. She'd never expected to share this news with him ever, really. Not that she'd lied to Hank, but when it came down to it, she'd figured it wouldn't come up again. But…

"Bones…" he repeated, clenching his hand around the neck of his beer bottle.

Brennan kept her eyes on that as she opened her mouth. "When your grandfather was visiting you, he told me…" She paused and clenched her jaw before swallowing hard. "He told me something…about him and about your father."

She spared Booth a glance, and could see that his eyes were guarded. His white dress shirt was still crisp at the collar, and the contrast to his straight jawline with just a hint of stubble made him look very sharp and almost dark and scary. His unleashed power was rarely intimidating to her, but Brennan knew that in this moment, Booth could react unpredictably.

"He said…he said that he saw your father…" Even the words coming out of her mouth caused Brennan pain, and she wondered if she would survive speaking them. The full force of Booth's past, coinciding with the man she knew…it took her breath away for a moment. "Booth, he said he saw him hitting you, and…" Brennan's hands clenched open and shut as she tried to speak the words she'd promised to hold onto until the right day. "And he told your father to leave. He said…Hank said that he told him to leave and never come back, and…that's why. I'm sorry, Booth, I'm so sorry. Hank made me promise to tell you when the time was right, and I know it's not the right time, but I wanted you to know the truth. He wanted you to know the _truth_."

Booth made no move to respond, and instead stood as still as stone, the only movements found in the slight twitch of his jawline and the barely perceptible slide of his index finger against the condensation around the label on the beer.

Brennan opened her mouth to say something else, even as she reached out a hand to place on Booth's arm. But he stepped away and turned, walking for the door. Brennan moved past him and pressed her back against her door, preventing him from leaving. She'd never done anything like that before, and even now, she didn't even know what to say, but…

She just knew she couldn't let him leave. Not like this. It wasn't about her anymore; it was all about him.

"Booth…"

"Bones…" he rasped, "just let me go. Please."

"I…" her eyes widened at the pain in his voice, and she pressed her palms back against her door. "I can't. I don't know why, I don't know…Booth…"

His jaw worked back and forth, and she could almost feel heat rising off of him. His suit jacket was tight against his shoulders, his shirt tight against his abdominals; every part of his body was coiled and ready to spring. But his eyes were almost impassive, and Brennan blinked when she looked into his gaze, wondering if she'd misunderstood.

But then he closed his eyes for a moment and pulled in a deep breath. "I don't want you to see me like this, Bones."

His whispered admission cut her to the core, and Brennan's face flushed with the intimacy of the moment. "Don't you trust me?" she whispered in response.

His eyes flew open in shock, and if possible, he grew even more tense. "Yes. Yes, Bones. I trust you. I _trust_ you. I just…sometimes I can…react, and…"

His reassurance only added to his vulnerability, and Brennan knew she needed to act, and quickly. "Stay here. Tonight."

The words caused a spark in her belly, and she felt her entire body flush as they reverberated between them. His eyes had mirrored her reaction, and it was clear that their instinctual reactions had resulted from the mutual desire for sexual intercourse. But…

"Stay…in the guest room." Brennan nodded. "You don't even have to see me. You can get drunk; I have your favorite beer."

When he didn't push past her to the door, she took that as a good sign. "You can watch TV, or do whatever you want to. Just…I want you to stay here tonight."

The silence crashed around them, and they both stood there, considering her offer. After several moments, Booth just nodded and then turned from her, making his way down her hallway. Brennan heard rather than saw the guest bedroom close.

**--b&b--**

**See you in an hour with "Yellow", a longish one shot that involves some comfort and romance. Max has died (boo to me, i know!), and the team convinces Brennan she should go away for awhile to relax. She agrees and also receives a visitor. I'll give you one guess, haha. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, hey, hey! Yes, I'm back, and I'm slowly working my way to completion on my open stories as well as working on a few other things. I'm planning to do another marathon, either the Saturday or the Wednesday before the season six (WHOO! SIX SEASONS!) premiere. It's been awhile since this story was posted; I am aware of that. I would recommend maybe going back to read chapter one of this story, just to get re-connected with what all is happening. I hope you enjoy this ending. Brennan is sort of self-pitying. But i think she can be like that sometimes. Anyways, Please let me know! And please remember that I'm spoiler free, so help me keep my ears and eyes protected! :) **

**-b&b-**

Brennan leaned against her door and looked around her living room, feeling the expanse of the space. From her position, she could see two beer bottles sitting side by side on her kitchen counter, and for some reason, they made her feel lonely. Her throat felt warm and scratched, as if her words had physically forced their way out of her body. She clenched her hands to her sides, feeling hot along her skin, shameful at the way she'd broken her promise to Hank.

She didn't even know why he'd told _her_ all of those things in the first place. He should have known that she wouldn't be able to discern the right time or moment. And even if she had, she still wouldn't have known the right things to say. The past hour was perfect evidence of that.

"Foolish" she muttered, rolling her shoulders back as she walked to the kitchen. She heard the sound of the shower from her spare bathroom and a throb echoed low in her belly. _No_, she chided herself. _Stop thinking about it_. Booth needed friendship, not his partner's desperate need for sex.

Was he less tense? Or was he still on edge? Was he relaxed? Or was he now just a slicked up long line of coiled muscle?

_Stop!_

Brennan forced herself not to walk over and press her hand against the wall of her kitchen, the shared wall between her kitchen and her spare bathroom. Instead, she walked to her small office, opening up her laptop computer. With the office door cracked, she heard Booth turn off the water and she heard it a moment later when he opened the bathroom door and then closed the spare bedroom door.

She heard the click of the ceiling fan whirring to life and a slight rustle of sheets being pulled back. Her body grew sensitive, and she leaned back and closed her eyes, allowing herself one minute to picture it. Booth's shoulders were wide. Did he lie on his back? On his stomach, his arms stretched to his side. Or maybe on his side? Brennan felt her palms grow warm, desirous to touch. Forcing her eyes open, she shook her head, warding off any further unwanted thoughts. She pulled up two different word documents and got to work.

**-b&b-**

A car backfire from outside caused her eyes to open. Confused, she looked around, realizing with a start that she'd fallen asleep at her desk. With a deep sigh, Brennan rolled her shoulders back and stood, closing her laptop as she walked around her desk. It was nearly 2 AM, and though she easily knew her way back to her own bedroom, she blinked for a moment when she realized her spare bedroom door was closed. She hardly ever closed it unless she had company…

It was then that she remembered that Booth was there. And _why_ he was there. A strange feeling curled in her chest and she rested her hand a half inch away from the door. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Brennan stood there, listening.

But a moment later, she realized she was listening to nothing in particular. She sighed and walked back to her bathroom. She washed her face and cleaned off the minimal remnants of the makeup she'd applied that morning. After that, Brennan stripped out of her clothing, and after a quick shower, she padded back to her bedroom. She took a sleeveless, knee length nightgown from her drawer and pulled it over her head and shoulders, letting the soft fabric slide down her torso and upper thighs. But as she stared at her bed, she realized she wasn't quite tired enough to sleep for the night. Her small nap at her desk had effectively given her enough to sleep to feel rested enough to be annoyed just lying in her bed.

She walked back from her bedroom to her kitchen. Ignoring the two beer bottles, she dampened a washcloth and wiped around her sink and stove, cleaning up from that morning's breakfast. And thinking about Booth.

They'd spent the entire week on the case; the kind of week where no one hardly slept, even when they'd given up each day. Brennan had lain awake in her bed, her mind going over every single detail and fact, desperate to figure out what had ended up seeming so simple.

She'd known Booth was doing the same because each morning he'd gotten bigger and bigger cups of coffee for them, and sometimes, at two or three in the morning, he'd send her a text, asking a question about some evidence.

_She'd never bought the coffee._

Brennan sighed as she thought back over the week, realizing that Booth had to have been just as tired as she had been. She hoped he was sleeping now, because while she'd known he wasn't about to admit it, the parallels to his family life weighed on him, making the lines around his mouth and eyes more pronounced, making the press of his fingertips against her back just a touch harder, making the twist of his key into the ignition of the SUV just a fraction faster.

Her mind on that, she quickly turned but miscalculated and knocked over the beer bottles sitting on her cupboard. She was too slow, and they fell to her tiled floor, smashing into small green shards. "Damn it." she hissed, trying to step over the remains of glass and liquid. Frustration overtook her and she wanted to kick at the mess, but instead just grabbed at her paper towels to wipe it away, like the mistake it was.

"What's the matter, Bones?"

Brennan whirled around and her breath caught in her throat. Booth was leaning in her kitchen doorway in his snug boxer shorts and a softly worn undershirt. "You're awake." How had he gotten to the kitchen so quickly? And…she blinked when she saw his hair was sticking up in a weird pattern, apparently after drying against his pillow.

"Well, yeah," his voice was raspy and sleepy and he swallowed. "What happened?"

Brennan flushed and remembered where she was. "Don't worry about it, Booth," she deflected and turned back around, bending over to pick up the glass. "I'm sorry I bothered you."

"You didn't bother me." He answered, and she could tell he'd walked up to stand behind her. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

A humorless laugh escaped her lips and she stood up, turning around. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who should be upset, Booth. I…"

Her teeth clenched and she shook her head as she walked to her trash can and angrily tossed the broken glass inside.

"Here, I'll help," he leaned over to grab her paper towels, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"No!"

Booth eyed her, unsure. And Brennan felt even more frustrated.

"Just…don't worry about it, Booth. I'm sorry for the noise."

"I don't care about the noise, Bones." He insisted and they squared off with their eyes. It wasn't anything new, except for the fact that they were neither hardly dressed. After a full minute, Booth took his hand off of the paper towels. But he didn't move back. "What's the matter?"

Brennan felt angry, but honest. Her eyes grew wide and bright. "I'm pissed off, okay? At myself. I can't even…" she shook her head. "I can't do anything right. I can't even just be a friend. I'm supposed to be making _you_ feel better, and here you are, once again…helping _me_."

"Bones…" Booth stepped closer. "It's just glass."

"No," she exclaimed, her brow furrowing in frustration. She was in this mess because she had told Hank's secret, but apparently she still couldn't stop talking. "It's not just the glass. It's everything. It's the fact that I can't keep my mouth shut. You're always helping me, making me feel better, but…I don't…I don't know how to reciprocate. And I just make things worse sometimes." Her chin jutted out at her admission, and she turned away, picking up the last of the glass. The silence felt as jagged and slippery as the shards in her careful fingers.

"Bones," he entreated again, this time his voice softer. Brennan felt her cheeks soften with emotion, the same emotion she'd been feeling when she was with Booth lately. So uncertain, so desirous for something to happen, so unsure of what, how or why it could or should.

"Forget it, Booth." Even she could hear the resigned tone in her voice. "I'm sorry for what I said, and I'm sorry I insisted that you stay here." Her words trailed off as she stood up and noticed his tired eyes. His hair was now sticking up as if he'd run his hand through it. "I just…" she sighed. "I just wish I knew what to say. I wish I knew what to do," she trailed off in a pained whisper, moving to toss the glass into the trash can. She walked over to her sink to rinse her hands. Failure was never an option, if she could help it. She avoided scenarios exactly like these for the very fact that she knew the odds were stacked against her. "I wish I knew…" she admitted. "I'm a genius, but now, I just don't know."

"You're selling yourself short, Bones," Booth insisted, his eyes searching across the space between them.

Brennan scoffed, "Stop lying, Booth. You don't need to make me feel better about it, okay?"

"What do you _want_ to do?" Booth insisted, and she frowned, sparing him a glance as she concentrated on cleaning her fingers.

"I don't know," she confessed, moving to wipe her hands on a towel. "And I find that incredibly frustrating. I feel like I'm the one responsible for you being upset, but I can't do anything about it. I mean, if I could…" she struggled for words, her drying hands in front of her as if they would be able to help elaborate. "I don't know…I would _absorb _your pain. Somehow just…take it from you," she motioned with her hands. "So you didn't have to have it anymore. I don't like seeing you in pain."

Her confession stifled the air between them, and they stared at each other. Silence swirled all around, and Brennan's palms felt warm again. She clenched her fists to her sides and waited. Waited for Booth's logical reaction, to accept her failings and turn and leave her, or for him to gently place a hand on her shoulder, tell her everything would be fine. Once again, comfort her when it was her job to comfort him.

But instead, he took a step closer.

He was so close, and his eyes were narrowed, almost suspicious, but still, he leaned toward her. His face moved closer and closer, his eyes still dark and unreadable. And when his lips touched hers, they were rough and chapped. Booth pulled back with a shuddered inhale, his eyes now begging her to push him away, to tell him to stop, to somehow convince him that the pain he felt was deserved. It was that thought that spurred her on. She flattened her hands on his stomach and leaned up on her tiptoes. She didn't kiss him, but instead just presented the opportunity for him to kiss her again. He didn't moan or growl, just bit his bottom lip between his teeth, his desire warring with his sense of right and wrong, his pain warring with his need for healing. When he gave in and kissed her again, Brennan gasped at what she felt. His lips were strong and warm against hers; So strong. So warm. Pain flowed from him to her, and her fingers curled into the soft cotton of his shirt. Soon, his hands were pressed against the counter behind her, his arms tense as he tried to hold back the storm of emotion coursing through his body.

She'd never once seen him as tense, never quite felt him as warm and electric. She'd never been with anyone as desperate as he was. Brennan didn't know what to say or even what to think, but she knew what to do. She understood this…despite never knowing him like this, she still instinctively knew.

His lips were almost biting at hers, and she just ran her hands up and down his back, accepting. When he snapped his head back, his eyes were fiery and shocked, his cheeks flushed with desire and frustration.

"Bones," he warned, begging her with his tone to make him stop. But Brennan couldn't do that for him. She couldn't make him stop what he needed. What they both needed.

She shivered, and for the first time since she'd left her bedroom, remembered that she was nude under her nightgown. Booth's chest and shoulders were firm and strong under her hands, and Brennan touched him lightly, looking him in the eye. Gently, she lifted on her toes and pressed her lips to his once, then again, before trailing light kisses to his cheeks. His forehead came to rest against hers and he finally wrapped his arms around her waist in a hug.

"Even though I am not to blame for your past, Booth…" Brennan whispered. "I'm very sorry that happened to you."

He swallowed and his neck tilted to the side. She watched his face contort in some emotion before she felt him settle his forehead in the crick of her neck. Although he was an inch or so taller than her, in this position, he fit perfectly. Her bare arms wrapped around his shoulders as he inhaled and exhaled.

"Bones," he began after a moment. "I don't think…I don't think you know how much you mean to me."

"Booth…" she gasped, but he held on to her tighter.

"No, I mean…you're the only one, Bones. The _only_ person…the only person I really trust, you know?"

He pulled back and met her eyes. "I know you don't want to hear that, especially about…you know, you and me stuff, but it's true. You always tell me the truth, and I want to tell you the truth."

Brennan felt as if her stomach was hollow, and she wasn't sure what to say or do. "I…" To say that she didn't know what that meant was on the tip of her tongue. But that would be a lie, she realized. She did know what he meant. Her arms were still around him, his face so close to hers. This was Booth.

"Bones," his hands came up to cup the outsides of her arms and he sighed. "You're the only woman," his throat worked as he swallowed hard. "The only _person_ who knows the real me. The only one." His jaw tightened as he looked her over from head to toe as if just now realizing their position. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?" His voice was raspy, and his brow furrowed as he repeated his words. "You, Bones. I…you know me. You're the only one who makes me feel okay sometimes."

"Booth…" she whispered back, feeling his touch so strongly. "I…you know me too." Her voice cracked and she leaned forward. "More than anyone."

"I know you don't believe in fate, Bones, or any of that stuff. And maybe us meeting that day was just a coincidence, but…everything after that. Every day, month, year…Bones…that's been us…together. And I couldn't have done it without you. You make me happy, Bones. You make…" his chest expanded with a deep breath and he rubbed the heel of one hand against his hard chest over his heart. "You make this pain go away. You're the only person who has ever done that for me." His hands tightened once again on her arms, and he pulled her even closer to him to make her see. "Do you understand? You've been helping me with my pain since the day I met you, Bones."

They stared at one another, this silence a softer and warmer one.

Booth's eyes held a relief at finally having told her how he felt combined with a tiny bit of hesitance. Brennan knew she needed to make a decision. Here, in his arms, the decision felt simple. She closed her eyes and kissed him, gently running her fingertips against his face.

Brennan felt the strength in Booth's chest against hers. Beneath her palms, his thin shirt felt like silk over his strong back and shoulders. Against her legs, she felt his strong thighs. Her feet nestled between his. He smelled like sandalwood and shaving cream. Her nose nuzzled against the soft skin under his ear, and he shivered under her hands. She couldn't resist letting her lips skim just over his strong jawline to his other ear to see if the same result occurred. Her experiment was successful, and his arms tightened around her.

"Bones," he growled low in his throat. It was a warning. All of the other kissing they'd done could be passed off as compassion, friendship, partnership. But anything further would be blatant, eyes wide open…_I want you_…forward movement.

"Booth," Brennan sighed, letting her lips brush against his chin, just along the faint scar there. He seemed to choke on another growl and then his lips were against hers; this time no pain coursed between them, only pleasure.

She cupped his face in her hands, trying to move even closer to him, and she gasped against his mouth when he slid his hands past her waist to the backs of her thighs.

Her back arched and her eyes widened as she stared at him, categorizing the hunger in his eyes. It turned to softened desire when Booth let his gaze travel over her body. He swallowed and gently kissed her lips again. "You're beautiful, Bones." He whispered. "On the outside, too."

Brennan was trembling in his hands, unsure of how to proceed. His words cut her to the core, speaking to the desire she'd had her entire life to be known. "Booth," her lips parted on his name and she rested her cheek against the spot near where his shoulder met his neck.

He tucked her closer and surprised her by lifting her off the ground, keeping her in his arms as he moved away from the kitchen. Instead of walking to her bedroom, he returned to the spare room. It had only been a few hours that he'd inhabited it, but it felt like his space. He lowered her to the unmade bed and followed, pressing his palms to the mattress on either side of her shoulders. Keeping his weight on his arms and knees, he brushed his chest against hers, leaning down to press his lips against the curve of her neck.

The strangely crisp and unused sheets rasped against her warm skin, each exposed inch feeling oversensitive to touch. To _his_ touch. And as he began to kiss down her arm, Brennan's mind began to turn. His chest brushed against hers again, and she brought one leg up against his, rubbing against him from knee to ankle.

"Bones, you…" he placed sucking kisses against her shoulders. "You are so gorgeous."

His words broke her out of her reverie, and she pressed back against his chest. "No, wait."

With a harsh groan of surprise, Booth reared back, resting his weight on his arms on either side of her. His eyes were both incredulous and full of immediate remorse. Brennan realized what she'd said, and she sat up. "No, I didn't mean _wait_, as in _no_. I just meant…" She bit her bottom lip and pressed her hands to his chest, encouraging Booth to his back. "I meant I want to kiss you. I want to make you feel good tonight."

Booth's nostrils flared and he cupped her waist as she straddled his. "Maybe touching you _is_ what makes me feel good," he insisted.

Feeling warm at his blatant words, Brennan ignored him and worked her fingers under the hem of his shirt. She pulled it over his chest, enjoying the display of muscles there. When the shirt reached his neck, Booth helped her. He used one hand to pull his shirt over the rest of the way, and by the time he was done, Brennan was already pressing soft kisses against his chest.

"Ohhhhhh…" his fingers tangled in her hair. "Bones."

Her name was on the breath he inhaled, and a gasp was on his exhale. Brennan loved the sound of him. It was so familiar and yet so new as well. She studied his responses as she kissed over his body, tracing his muscles with her tongue. She gently kissed his nipples, using her thumbs there and against the curve of his belly button, enjoying the way his hips arched up in response. He was so masculine, but so under the influence of her controlled touch. Her lips nuzzled around his abs and she lowered his boxers to his knees, meeting his eyes before pulling his underwear completely off his body. Placing them off the foot of the bed, she returned to the mattress, placing her hand on one of his ankles. Beginning a gentle massage, she worked her way over his feet, touching him carefully.

"Bones," he groaned, a dark flush streaking against his cheeks when she kissed the arches of his feet, beginning a slow move up his strong legs and thighs. Their eyes met again as she reached his waist. Brennan pressed her lips against his hipbones, once again amazed at the male body.

"Bones, wait," Booth's hips shifted on the bed. "I think…I think maybe it's time I got to touch you."

Brennan shook her head, her hair falling over Booth's hips and groin. "Not quite yet." She rested her weight on one elbow and took his erect penis in hand. Booth was long and thick, perfectly formed in the measured ratio of the rest of the body. It had been awhile since Brennan had been this close to a man, and she began a slow up and down motion, using Booth's moans and encouragements to guide her.

**-b&b-**

Booth clenched his fingers in the sheets at his sides. When he'd carried his partner to bed, he hadn't planned on her studying him like this. And normally, he'd be opposed to such one sided treatment; he was a gentleman after all. But one thing he'd never been able to resist in this world was Bones. He saw in her expression that she was learning him. But it wasn't scientific or clinical. She was touching him with care. _She cares about me_, he realized.

But when she took him in her mouth, all the breath in his body whooshed out in a sharp exhale. "Damn, Bones. Oh _baby_…" his hips arched off the bed, and his fingers tangled once again in her soft hair. _So silky against his hand_. She moaned against his cock as if she was being pleasured as much as he was. In his mind, he knew that wasn't even possible. But his ears and eyes, pinned to her actions, heard and saw differently. She cupped him in her hand and took him in deep, sucking lightly in time to a rhythm he tried to restrain. _Unbelievable pleasure_. "Bones." He gasped her name over and over, clenching his jaw and pressing his feet to the bed, lifting up once to extend his pleasure before he placed his fingers on her cheek. "Bones, you gotta stop. I'm going to come if you don't. Please. Please Bones…please _stop_."

He didn't sound very convincing, even to his own ears, but she did as he asked, pulling her lips away with a slow and soft kiss. Booth trembled at the loss of her touch and closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. Pulling in air through his nose, he forced his body to relax. Okay, he could do this. He was a hair trigger away from exploding, but if she stopped touching him for just a second, he could be okay.

But then he felt her lips on him again. Not opened, not sucking. Just light kisses, tender and sweet as if she couldn't quite stop kissing him. Booth opened his eyes to see Brennan looking at him, her face serene as she kissed him._ She loves me._

A wave of tenderness overrode his need for release as he watched her make love to him. _Bones._

Booth took it as long as he could. He felt his orgasm hover right at the point of no return. He swallowed hard and then lifted up on his elbows. "Bones. Come here. Please, Bones," he begged.

She stopped her lingering kisses and then pressed her hands and knees on either side of his body, moving forward until she was over him, nothing touching between them. Booth placed his hands on her thighs, moving them under her nightgown. With two careful fingers, he touched her between her legs, finding her aroused. Their eyes met, and her cheeks flushed with vulnerability, despite the way she'd brought him to the brink of unraveling.

His other hand fisted in her nightgown, and his lips parted. "Take this off, please."

The soft request whispered through the air between them as she did what he requested. When she resettled over him, his hands began to rove gently over her back and belly.

"I realize I'm not as thin as most of the women you date," Brennan began.

"What?" Booth's eyes narrowed as he leaned up to press his lips against her neck. He was sure he hadn't heard her right.

Her voice grew markedly less stable as she explained her rationale. "Based on the evidence I've procured after knowing you for many years, and while I am certainly within the norm for my height and build, I understand that you might prefer thinner women-"

"Nah," Booth insisted. "No, Bones," he rested back against his pillow and met her eyes. "You. You, Bones. I prefer you." His hands cupped the backs of her legs then smoothed down to her knees and back up to rub over her hips, thighs and belly. They settled over her stomach and then down to touch the insides of her thighs. "Only you."

With the same two fingers as before, he parted her thighs, rubbing her softly until her breath escaped her lips in a harsh gasp and her hips rocked down onto his hand. Keeping his palm over her mound, he used his other elbow to support himself as he lifted up, tucking his chin so he could open his mouth over her breast, pulling one soft nipple into his mouth.

"Unh…" she moaned out a soft and graceful grunt, beginning a natural rotation of her hips. Booth kept his touch sure as he kissed over to her other breast, placing soft licks against her perfect skin. He placed small kisses over her neglected nipple until she thrust her breast to his mouth, her lips falling open on a chanting beg. "Booth, please. Mmmm…it feels…it feels so good."

"I'm glad," Booth murmured and memorized the sexy undercurves of her breasts, putting a picture to all of his fantasies from the past several years. He settled back against the mattress, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs as he sank further down the mattress. Before Brennan could realize his plan, he was settled at her waist.

**-b&b-**

His strong hands cupped her thighs and he arched his neck, licking a single sweet line against her cleft and core.

"Ahhhh!" Brennan pressed her face to the pillow below her and concentrated on trying to contain the pleasure she was feeling. But she couldn't. It was rushing through her body as quickly as her arousal was coating her body and now Booth's tongue.

Oh…his tongue. Currently it was lapping at her flesh, soft and sure. His hands were large. She'd always known that, but it was new knowledge to have them rubbing her thighs and rear end. And then his lips. "Oh…oh, oh, oh, oh…" a soft chant tripped off her lips as Booth's lips and tongue settled against her sensitive clit. It had been aching since the moment she'd kissed him in her kitchen. Since the moment she'd heard him turn on her spare bathroom shower. Instantly, the images she'd forced herself to keep at bay, they tumbled free in her mind. Booth, standing, water coursing over his arms and chest, down his toned stomach toward his penis and thighs. She imagined washing his legs and licking droplets as she kissed her way over his hips. And as she imagined sucking his penis back into her mouth, Booth's lips tightened around her clit, beginning a soft and steady suction that could only be described as mind-numbingly perfect.

"Yes, yes, Booth. Yes, Booth. Oh, yes. Mmmmmmmm…Oh, oh, oh, oh…more. More, Booth. Please, oh yes!" Brennan's felt her stomach muscles contract, the sign of an impending orgasm. It felt so strange to be suspended in air, and her back arched. Her eyes went blind as she faced her headboard, the only things grounding her were her hands and knees on her mattress and Booth's sexy mouth wrapped around her. "Oh yessssss, oh. Oh. OH! Oh! Booth! Ah!" Her throat opened and a shout escaped, representing the intense satisfaction only her gorgeous partner could provide. "Booth!"

His name was all she could think about as pleasure splintered from behind her eyes and between his lips, spreading over her entire body. Her orgasm stole her breath and her sense of space and time. The next thing she knew, she was falling, and when her eyes opened, she had no idea how much time had passed. She was on her back, her pillow cool against her sweat dampened neck. Brennan was cognizant of a hand on her belly and she blinked in the dimly lit room, turning her neck enough to see Booth lying beside her, his eyes on her face. She blinked again, tears pricking behind her eyes at both the pleasure he'd given her and the satiated release she felt. Combined with the curious and pleased look in his eye, it was more than she could take. She closed her eyes again and pressed the back of one hand against his stomach, running her knuckles against his muscles there.

When Booth sucked in a sharp hiss, she felt and heard it and then realized that while she'd come, and hard, he still hadn't. Opening her eyes, she let her eyes travel down his body. Her hand against his stomach trailed down toward his hardness and she stroked him, relishing his deep, heartfelt groan. In response, her thighs parted, welcoming him. The scent of her orgasm was enticing, and Brennan watched his nostrils flare. She pulled on his penis again, and then again. "I want you inside me, Booth."

His breath rushed out again, as if he'd been waiting for the invitation. With a soft smile and a new low undercurrent of lazy energy, Brennan turned toward him, continuing to caress Booth as she placed one long leg over his hips. She ran the head of his cock through her wetness until Booth growled, grabbing her hips in his hands and moving till she was flat on her back and he was settled, firm and hard, between her thighs. He wrapped her legs around his waist and with one sure thrust, buried himself deep, deep inside.

"Oh…_yeah_, Bones." His neck tensed and his buttocks clenched as he pressed a fraction deeper, unwilling to not have even an inch of her that was his.

The feel of him, long and thick and so, so hard caused Brennan's back to arch, and she locked her arms around his neck. Completely wrapped around him, she began to rock up, riding him from below, desperately accepting each of his frantic thrusts. Her breasts pressed and flattened against his hard chest, and it was the most amazing feeling she'd ever experienced.

Booth seemed to feel the same, and he kept her close as he pressed her deeper into the mattress, keeping her arms and legs tightly draped over him. His entire torso pressed against hers, and he rocked against her. Not so much pulling in and out, he just seemed to be everywhere at once, and his hips began to swivel.

The sensation pressed his body against her clit, and the stimulation felt so good, Brennan began to feel the so closely familiar stirrings of an orgasm swirl in her lower belly.

"I'm close, Bones," Booth warned, burying his face in her neck. She felt his teeth scrape against his neck and wondered what it would be like to feel him bite her there. A new plateau of pleasure coursed over her, centering on where they were joined so intimately. Knowing that Booth was close to orgasm made her envelop him tighter, squeezing him with everything she had. Arms. Legs. Desperate Core.

"Oh, Bones…" he opened his mouth against her collarbone, sucking hard. In a moment she might later feel was weakness, she relished in being under Booth's male control and desperation. His desire to brand her made her want him to.

She felt him tense and then freeze, the absence of movement just as intense as his confident thrusting. And then he tensed again, _harder_, so hard. His penis lengthened and warmed inside her and then he was coming, groaning and rubbing his face against her neck and chest, completely out of control.

The feel of his rough day-old beard against her soft skin, the feel of his hard hands clenching her buttocks, the feel of his essence shooting from him to coat her insides, all of it combined was enough to send her over the edge. She came, violently, splintering into a thousand shards of pleasured light and feeling. The only anchor that kept her from disintegrating was Booth. He held her close and collapsed onto her, pulling in heaving breaths near her chest.

They stayed there for a couple of moments. Brennan's fingers traced lightly over Booth's spine. She felt him shiver softly, the sweat on his back cooling in the night air. The shudder was masculine and vulnerable and he slipped out of her at the same time with a light groan.

Brennan trembled, and her arms relaxed as her legs fell back against her mattress. All at once, she felt Booth tense, and knew he was having a moment of regret. Though she'd never been in this situation with Booth or anyone she'd ever cared for as much as him, she knew him. She knew he was glad they were together, but that it would upset him that something bothering him was the ultimate reason. That their first time was because of his problems.

_Look, when the time is right, you'll tell him. And if, uh, if he needs it, you'll hold him, okay?_

Hank's words floated back to her, and she remembered them in context and with full meaning. Feeling unsure and brave at the same time, Brennan tentatively wrapped her arms around Booth. His shoulders and back were still tense, his muscles working in recovery from his orgasm. She bit her lip, feeling hesitant and vulnerable, wondering if she was incorrect in her actions. After all, most men didn't want close physical contact after sex.

But then all at once, the tension eased from Booth's body, and he relaxed, pressing a soft kiss against her neck. Booth pulled back and met her eyes, and Brennan saw her own emotions in them. She leaned forward and kissed him. Booth's arms wrapped around her, and then moved to their sides, twined together.

The time was right. She'd told him the truth. And she was going to hold him. And she was going to let him hold her, too.

**-b&b-**


End file.
